State Parties

News from KDP Executive Director Mary Nishimuta

I’m popping this e-mail from Jacqueline
back up in your inbox. Like she said, it's
crucial we keep fighting for Kentuckians -
starting with our children and their
education.

With each student that
enrolls in a charter school, funding will be
taken away from a public school. Charter
schools aren't held to the same standards as
public schools. They often aren't required to
give parents a voice, and can put children at
risk of segregation. We can't sit by, so we're
going to keep fighting against every attempt to
defund public education. Kentucky needs more
support for public schools, not
less.

Mary
Nishimuta

KDP Executive
Director

Last
week, charter school legislation went into
effect in our Commonwealth. As an educator in
our public schools, I know the strains this
will cause for Kentucky’s children and our
local school systems. Every time a public
school student enrolls in a charter school,
funding will be diverted away from public
schools. Ultimately, this weakens our public
schools and waters down the educational
services provided, because charter schools are
not beholden to the same high standards we have
for our public school system. Any attempt to
undermine our public schools – a system built
on creating opportunities and equity, not just
for some of us, but for all of us – flies in
the face of our Commonwealth’s principle of
“United We Stand, Divided We
Fall.”

In a time when transparency
is needed now, more than ever, charter schools
do not have the same accountability
expectations as public schools. Pitch in what
you can to support Kentucky Democrats while
they continue to fight for public
schools!

Charter schools often are
not required to provide open records upon
request; some are not required to hold open
meetings that provide a voice for parents and
community members, and their teachers are not
required to be certified. Worse, charter
schools can cut necessary services to “save
money.” These services could include support
for students with disabilities, meals,
libraries, athletics teams, and
transportation.

While charter schools
are permitted to deny necessary services, the
public school system is still required to
continue to provide these services for the
charter school students. All with your tax
dollars. We can’t sit by, we have to stand up
and do something.

Think about
that. Your tax dollars could be diverted away
from your local public school just to have that
public school continue to fund necessary
services for students who attend a charter
school that may not even be required to respond
to your open records request or open their
meetings to the public.

The equity
that public schools exist to ensure could
dissipate, and potentially put our children at
risk of re-segregation. Often, charter schools
target specific demographics such as
socio-economic status or ethnicity. This
practice would deny equitable opportunities to
all Kentucky students, putting our students
with the greatest needs at an even greater
disadvantage.

There's so much
at stake for our children's future. Will you
stand with us and support candidates who will
fight for public schools?

Our
public schools, like any public system or
private company, have areas for growth. We all
want to be better, and we know that requires a
commitment to our children and our communities.
Diverting funds away from public schools
doesn’t make us better. A lack of
transparency doesn’t make us better. Slicing
our small towns and counties into smaller, more
divisive pieces doesn’t make us
better.

Collaboration,
community, and committed investment in public
education would, however, make us
better.